5,000 entrepreneurs graduate from Google’s Hustle Academy

About 5,000 business owners in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, on Tuesday, graduated from Google’s Hustle Academy training programme.

Launched in February this year, the Hustle Academy provides practical business training which helps business owners learn the soft skills that complement their hard talents, through peer-to-peer and mentor driven learning.

Google Hustle Academy is a bootcamp-style training  programme designed to help entrepreneurs and small businesses owners position their businesses for investment opportunities and building viable business models for the future.

This 5,000 graduates, chosen from nearly 10,000 applications come from 23 cohorts who attended five day virtual bootcamps where they learned how to define their business strategy, increase sales, and how to pitch for investor funding. The curriculum also included lessons on digital marketing and effective financial planning.

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According to the Head of Brand and Reputation, Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA), Mojolaoluwa Aderemi-Makinde, each business received one on one mentoring sessions, to address specific pain points in their businesses, and to get advice from a network of trained mentors and coaches.

“Our graduates are working hard to grow their businesses, and in addition to having an impact in these 5000 SMBs, this kind of practical training also has a ripple effect, helping many more people succeed,” she said.

At the events, Google also announced a new speaker series in which successful African entrepreneurs share lessons and advice, furthering its commitment to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses thrive.

The new talk-show style video series featuring renowned and respected entrepreneurs from across Africa, sharing practical advice and growth tips to inspire emerging entrepreneurs is meant to complement and expand the Hustle Academy training as it allow SMBs to get insight from business owners from an array of sectors, focusing on the issues, themes and subjects they face on a regular basis.

“Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are the backbone of the global economy, and in Africa, they account for an estimated 80percent of jobs. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, there are an estimated 44million micro, small and medium enterprises, which function as important drivers of economic growth. Google is committed to supporting businesses in Africa and initiatives like the Hustle Academy and the new speaker series help businesses take advantage of all the opportunities that the web offers and equip them with the tools to develop and grow,” Aderemi-Makinde said.